A variety of tubs, dishpans, glass racks and dollies are typically used for transporting glasses, dishes and other eating utensils between a kitchen and an eating area.
These means are ineffective in that they all require numerous trips to be made between a kitchen and eating area during the eating area's clearing and/or setup (these activities being collectively referred to herein as "busing") . This is particularly true when the eating area is a large banquet facility. For example, tubs and dishpans provide no means of separating the variety of dishes that need to be transported. A limitation on tubs, dishpans and glass racks is that one may only transport what one can carry. Dollies are limited as to the number of glass racks which may be safely transported in a single stack (due to tipping concerns), and dish racks loaded with plate and/or flatware containers are not amenable to stacking.
The above recited busing means are also ineffective in that they require excessive handling of dishes. For example, when an eating area is being cleared, dishes and glasses are often placed in the same tub for transport back to the kitchen. It is inevitable that the glasses will bump against one another, and against the dishes--leading to a high risk of breakage (especially for the glasses). Once the tub is brought to the kitchen, the items in the tub must be transferred to dishwasher racks. This extra handling step further increases the risk of breakage. Even when glasses are cleared from a table via a glass rack, there is a high risk of breakage. This is due to the fact that glasses must be placed in a glass rack "open end up" for transport to the kitchen without spillage. Once the glasses are returned to the kitchen, they are emptied, and then returned to the glass rack "open end down". In this manner, they do not collect wastewater when processed through a dishwasher. Once again, the extra handling leads to a high risk of breakage.
Conventional busing means are also ill-suited for setup purposes. For example, water glasses are often brought to an eating area unfilled, or are brought filled in small quantities (carried on a serving round or the like). Serving rounds are obviously limited in the quantity of glasses they can transport. However, when glasses are brought to an eating area unfilled, it is a time consuming task to fill the glasses utilizing pitchers or the like. If filled glasses could be transported to an eating area more efficiently, it would be much easier to fill the glasses in the kitchen.
A need therefore exists for a busing cart which can 1) transport a large number and variety of glasses, dishes and/or other eating utensils, 2) reduce the number of times dishes (especially glasses) are handled, and 3) function as a universal busing means (i.e., function equally as well in clearing and setup operations). A busing cart which is both safe to use and easy to clean is also desirable.